Thursday in Paarl (a VERY delayed post)

My apologies...I was on a roll and then BAM. No more posts. They are all recorded in my journal but have yet to make it to this blog. The last few days flew by and we finished off the week on the safari and in Cape Town. Then, jet lag took hold when I returned, as did the realization that I was "home" back in the US. That transition always needs its own post...

Anyway, what did we do on our last day of serving? We spent the day at 2 of the community care centers that are part of Monte Christo Miqlat. The purpose of the community care center is "to serve as a safe beacon of hope and holistic care in the heart of the community." Programs include: nutritional care, support groups, children programs, school age educational programs, youth programs, internet cafe, social welfare programs, and arts/culture/recreation.

We started the day at Lukhanyo in Mbekweni. Our intent was to serve food there. The food was very late so wound up entertaining a ton of kids that were there waiting. Or should I say, they entertained us? You be the judge:

 utter chaos

 Candice did 1 jumping jack and then the mob broke out in jumping jacks

 

bare feet

 the beginning of my fun with the camera....

 monkey see, monkey do

 I was thinking of a pose for them (Hmmmmm), can you tell?

P.S. If you visit here and are having trouble making friends under 4 feet, take out your camera! Immediate popularity!

catching up with an old friend, Yolanda -- she works here with her father (Sidwell)

We were fortunate enough to meet a group of women who fulfilled a bead project to be shipped out. I think Wal-Mart was the buyer (my memory is shot). Anyway, they made these beaded "things" to go on the neck of wine bottles. They made thousands. They had assembled to have their photo taken for a publication to spotlight them and share the story. The women are more reserved than the kids, obviously, so I keep the camera away. When I took out my camera for the kids, a few of them obliged me or even asked for the photo to be taken so they can see.

 

 Eunice works here and is modeling some of the bead projects they are working on

 the gang who completed the project

 they are also sewing aprons and bags to sell

 this gal wanted her picture with the kiddos

Then, the food came.

 rice

 vegetable soup/stew

We had a visitor stop by before he headed out of town:

 ad for United Colors of Benetton, no?

 Luba!

At lunch, we headed to Paarl East to spend time at Tiffany's. Again, we served food there to those who were on what is our equivalent of welfare. They came to get food until it ran out. So, sadly, some were turned away with no food.

We spent the afternoon with this 4-some:

We had a blast exchanging "words" and snippits from both our countries and cultures. Ask Candice about "sperrips" when you see her. We laughed and we hurt their ears with our American English. Jenny, Surita, & Cathy, I'm still laughing about some of the things you said. You guys make a great team!

We ended the day with dinner at our usual spot and packing for the safari.

Love,

Danielle

Monday

Wow, I need to catch up! I'll post more about the weekend later, and I'll start with Monday!

Monday, we met at the coffee shop with Aletia, the new CEO of Monte Christo Miqlat. I remember Aletia from the food center from previous years so it is nice to see her in this new position. We met for a lovely breakfast (as you'll see pictures, of course), and she gave us an overview of the organization as it is now since it has gone through some recent changes with the merging of Miqlat & Monte Christo Ministries. 

For those of you who are not familiar with Monte Christo Miqlat, they have five strategic focus areas: Bowy House (our Tuesday spot), Food center (they are now feeding 9000 children across 4 regions), community centers in Mbekweni + Paarl East (while promoting social entrepreneurship), the homeless, and the coffee shop. The mission includes sustainably helping and empowering those in the community who are in need. They focus on partnerships to share resources and work together to fulfill the mission.

They are doing an amazing job here. Check out just a few of the stats from last year (2011):

• 65 homeless put in jobs each month
• 275 homeless fed per month
• 889,200 meals served
• 68,400 school holiday meals served
• 2,500 children coached and fed weekly

Then, we went on a tour of the area with Francisco, who is always energetic and a load of fun! There is never a dull moment with Francisco around. We started in the mountains overlooking the valley to get an aerial view while hearing some of the history as we looked onto the various communities. We drove around to the locations of the focus areas for the organization and heard from leaders regarding the daily activities of the facilities, target populations, and community information and demographics.

To me driving through, several times I was overwhelmed with the enormity of some of the problems and how each "area" has several interwoven factors that make isolating and combating them difficult. I'm always reminded of the starfish story and the need to start small and grassroots. 

Here are some pictures from the day:

 

with Aletia

 view of the valley

 Francisco & Candice

 garden planted at Lukhanyo

 

 beads made by community women

 sewing project available for women in the community

 a few of the community heroes

  

class for community adults to learn basic skills to help with everyday living

That's a brief overview of our Monday introduction to Monte Christo Miqlat! 

Please go their website for more information!

Danielle